Ways to Succeed In Training Room

Corporate Training is a program that every company relies greatly on to meet one or many business goals namely:

·         Increase Production

·         Reduce Turnover

·         Reduce Absenteeism

·         Retain Employees

While there are many more reasons for which Workplace training is encouraged, making it a success is the absolute target. Understanding the various aspects that lead to success in a training room can be handy to implement the same.

Identifying the Business Goal:

It is most important that each and everyone inside the training room (Both the trainer and trainees) have identified and understood the business goal. Any training that deviates from the business goal would fail eventually.

Determine the Task and Activities of the Trainees (Employees)

The training should impart learning in such a way that the employees fulfill the business goals thereafter. With a fair idea about what is expected out of the employees at the end of the training program, activities should be planned and organized in such a way. Trainers should be able to manipulate the employees and give them hands on practice during the session. The training should involve activities, experiential learning sessions and tasks that help filling the gap between the present performance of the employees and the expectations of the company.

Understand Your Employees before Designing the Training Program

The training should be organized so as to talk into the employees and make them accept the business goals as their own. This would be only possible through the right way of communicating the very purpose of the training. Since the training involves a lot of investment to the company there is no harm in studying the minds of employees who are targeted at. Ensure what kind of training employees would be interested in:

·         Computer Based Training (or)

·         Instructor Led Training

Employees would be interested to learn through one or more of the following training methods:

·         Visual – Learn by Looking

·         Auditory – Learn by Hearing

·         Reading or Writing Preference

·         Kinesthetic – Learn by doing

Rather than leaving it to the trainer’s choice, it is always good to conduct training in a way the employees expect it to be.

Decide Who Needs the Training

The biggest task to attain success during training is to understand who really needs the training first in place. As a part of business, training the new candidates becomes indispensable. But with the initiative of organizing training for improving employees’ performance, you need to be certain who need the training. Training someone who is already in track is sheer waste of time and money.

Understanding and planning the target employees helps in:

·         arranging a trainer who would go with the initiated plan

·         organizing the training program in a lower investment

·         preparing the training agenda as per the requirement

·         evaluating the performance of the employees after training since you already their current level of performance

Also, the productivity doesn’t affect as much as it would have been if such a study was not conducted. Now, since you know who doesn’t require training, they can sit back and concentrate on the work while others are engaged in the training program.

Right Time to Conduct Training

Training is a program planned and designed to meet the business goals. Unless the necessity of training is imperative, organizing one in an inappropriate time just for the sake of company’s determination will not turn out successfully. 

Training should be generally conducted when the business runs slowly, to engage the employees. The schedule and time-frame should be designed in such a way that the employees’ enjoy the program at the same time no work disruptions. A perfect training program should promise the balance between the training schedule and Business as usual.

Need For an Effective Trainer

Not only investing much time and more money is enough to make Corporate training a success, the skill of the trainer to handle the crowd also matters.

An effective trainer should be:

Knowledgeable – sound enough to handle the topic to the employees; an efficient trainer ensures that the subject matter that is focused for the training is cultivated in the minds of the employees.

A Good communicator – One who can convey the message as it is supposed to be.  A good trainer will be able to transfer the knowledge and idea to everyone despite their difference of opinions. A trainer should be able to understand the gap between the employees and the learning objective and ensure the gap is bridged in the right way.

Experienced – Well versed in the technology or field he or she takes up. A trainer should make the training session sensible and useful to the employees in the training room.

Well Organized: A good trainer would be well planned with the objectives, topics to handle and challenges that would be in front of him during the session.

Fun-filled: This attribute of a trainer is most important since the employees should not find the training a boring one. A fun filled and enthusiastic trainer keeps the employees occupied and energetic throughout the session.

Creative – Innovative ways to train employees is important in corporate training. An effective trainer makes training a success by his/her own creativity.

Open Minded – An open minded trainer would give place for each and everyone’s ideas which leads way to shared learning inside a training room. This builds a relationship between the trainer and the employees and builds a rapport among employees.

Design Reliable Training Materials

Training should always be supported by training materials. If you think training would be successful with low quality or readily available materials, then you are messing up the whole idea of training. Each and every material should be tailor made and must be designed in such a way that it meets the learning objectives. Now again, are the training materials going to be shared as a PowerPoint Presentation or booklets or handouts or any other means? The answer fully depends on the learning objectives and mode that the employees would possibly prefer.

For example, Communication training would require a PowerPoint or instructor led training while technology training would require computer based training with all necessary tools installed. 

Assessment and Training Program

After all, an assessment helps to find out if the training has proved to be successful in infusing the objectives in the mind of the employees. Assessment also helps to know how far the employees are all set to work after the training program.

·         Generally, an assessment can be conducted before the training program. This would give idea about the knowledge level of the employees. An assessment after training helps to find the amount of Idea inculcated in the mind of employees as a result of the training program. A positive trend in the level of knowledge gained proves the training to be a grand success.

·         An assessment immediately after the session would seem to give positive results. To ensure the learning has reached into the minds of employees’ long term, assess them after few weeks or months.

Was The Training Program Constructive?

With everything put in effect as in plan and order, all you should do now is know if the training program was beneficial. Assessments would twist the arms of employees to prepare themselves to answer the questions right. But, to understand if the employees are really happy with the training program, go for feedback forms and surveys. Pick few employees in random and try to study the impact of training.

Having conducted training in a well planned manner, the employees will definitely give positive responses. Negative responses, if any, you can modify the mode of training so as to make it a successful one in near future.